Ole Amundsen Buslett

Ole Amundsen Buslett (May 28, 1855 – June 5, 1924) was a Norwegian born, American author, newspaperman, and politician.

Background

Ole Amundsen Buslett was born in Gausdal, Oppland, Norway. Buslett was the oldest of eight children born to Amund Halvorsen Buslett and Netta (Kalstad) Ringsrud. He migrated to the United States with his family in 1868 and settled in the town of Iola, in Waupaca County, Wisconsin.

Career

In 1888, Buslett opened a country store and post office in Northland, Wisconsin. He served as postmaster, justice of the peace, and town clerk. In 1893, he became editor and part owner of Varden then later served as editor of Folkevennen. Both publications were Norwegian language newspapers published in La Crosse, Wisconsin. In August, 1894, he became editor of Normannen in Stoughton, Wisconsin. In March, 1896, the publication was sold to Chicago-based Amerika. He held political offices in Waupaca County and was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1909 until 1910.^[1]

Buslett wrote in the Norwegian language. His writings included novels, stories, poems, and plays. His works primarily portrayed the lives of Norwegian immigrants in Wisconsin. He also wrote a history of the 15th Wisconsin Volunteer Regiment. Det Femtende Regiment Wisconsin Frivillige was published in 1894. It was translated into English and published as The Fifteenth Wisconsin during 1999.^[2][3]

Selected works

• Fram (1882)
• Leilighets digte (1882)
• Skaars skjæbne (1882)
• Øistein og Nora (1884)
• De to veivisere, et dramatisk digt i seks handlinger (1885)
• Snip-Snap-Snude (1889)
• Et dødens døgn, sørgespill (1890)
• Rolf Hagen ( 1893)
• Torstein i nybygden (1897)
• Sagastolen, fortælling fra det norske Amerika (1908)
• I Parnassets lunde (1911)
• Amerika-Paul (1913)
• Veien til Golden Gate (1915)
• Benediktus og Jacobus (1920)

References

1. ^ Buslett's Editorship of Normannen from 1894 to 1896 (by Evelyn Nilsen. Norwegian-American Historical Association. Volume XII: Page 128) [1]
2. ^ Wisconsin Historical Society (Dictionary of Wisconsin History)
3. ^ Civil War Database Sources (Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum)

Primary sources

• Øverland, Orm The Western Home : A Literary History of Norwegian America (Chapter 10, Ole Amundsen Buslett, Romantic Idealist. Norwegian American Historic Association. 1996)
• Hustvedt, Lloyd Ole Amundsen Buslett, 1855-1924 (from “Makers of an American Immigrant Legacy: Essays in Honor of Kenneth O. Bjork”, Odd S. Lovoll, editor, Norwegian-American Historical Association, 2001)

External links

• Portrait of Ole Amundsen Buslett
• The Road to the Golden Gate by Hustvedt, Lloyd
• Veien til Golden Gate Jul i Vesterheimen (Minneapolis, 1913) Norwegian
• Wikipedia Norge Norwegian

Persondata
Name	Buslett, Ole Amundsen
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	May 28, 1855
Place of birth
Date of death	June 5, 1924
Place of death